New-build Family Home
This project involved the design and delivery of a new family home on a semi-rural site at the edge of Edinburgh. The brief was to create a generous, light-filled family home that responded honestly to its location and not by mimicking the surrounding built fabric, but by drawing its form from the patterns and geometry of the site itself.
Securing consent required a carefully developed and clearly argued design case, built around the logic of the building's relationship to its setting as a considered and specific response to its context.
The design takes its geometry directly from the site – the alignment of boundaries, the position of mature trees, the orientation towards open landscape to the south. Two intersecting linear volumes emerge from these cues, giving the house a form that feels derived from its place rather than imposed upon it.
At ground floor, an open-plan living space opens fully southward through generous glazing, connecting the interior directly to the garden and landscape beyond. A triple garage and plant room occupy the northern end of the ground floor. On the upper floor four bedrooms, each with en-suite facilities, are arranged alongside a master suite and study.
In response to the semi-rural setting, a feature stone wall to the front elevation provides cohesive aesthetic, while white render is primarily used on the 1st floor volume in recognition of the materiality of the building’s context. Zinc cladding was used as a feature on the setback elements to each end of the first floor. This material sits in contrast to the more solid appearance of the stone plinths and rendered volumes.
Consent was secured following a detailed and at times difficult planning process – a result that required sustained engagement with both the planning authority and objecting parties, and a design argument rigorous enough to stand up to close scrutiny.
The project was delivered through a self-build route, with the client acting as their own contractor. This required consistent and hands-on site involvement throughout construction to ensure the design intent was maintained.
Contemporary in form, considered in its material choices, and generous in its relationship to the landscape around it, the finished home sits confidently in its setting.
Project type: New-build family home
Location: Edinburgh
Service: Create
Scope: Full architectural design services and oversight during construction
Contractor: Self-build
Project delivered as Associate Director at Block Nine Architects.